Bullet Points: Death Valley
Movies come and they go and wave after wave of knockoffs get made with each success in the box office. When sci-fi is hot then you’ll see others getting made and when horror flicks strike gold then you’ll see another in a long line of Scream or Saw movies come out. Death Valley is the type of movie that should and could have been made back in 1993. It feeds off of that same format that pumped out DTV flicks for a couple of decades and I am happy to say that I was usually at the front of the line when seeing those flicks. Hell, I am still watching them to this day and the trailer of Death Valley gave me immense hope that this type of flick might just make a comeback in my life.
- Underground chaos: An alarm blares somewhere in a secret underground facility. Not a good sign. A few people are running for a slowly closing door and we get our first chance to see our young, attractive scientist character played by Kristen Kaster. She takes a bullet but is able to get away from both the shooter and a mysterious creature that mauls the hell out of the other dude with her.
- Alone and afraid: While Kaster’s character is now alone and covered in blood, at least she’s alive. She manages to get a video message out to whatever shadowy organization that employs her and before we know it the cavalry is on its way.
- Mercs on a mission: Speaking of the cavalry, we’re introduced to Beckett (Jeremy Ninaber) and Junior (Ethan Mitchell). They are best described as a couple of mercenaries who are tasked with infiltrating the underground facility and rescuing the scientist. Of course we get some background on the two. We know that they’re best buds and that Beckett has a baby on the way. Oh yeah, this is also meant to be his last gig. I’m sure that will all work out for him….
- Better off outside: The mercenaries make it to the site of the facility and we finally get some action. I wish it had been better, to be honest, as a militia group had the place surrounded and the mercs are forced to fight their way into the place. Beckett and Junior blast a few of them but there isn’t much hope in the way things are shot at this point in the movie. The two of them do have some good banter throughout the film and neither of them is that unlikable but at times it feels like it’s too much banter. Especially when we learn that our creatures can’t see and must use sound for their killings.
- Mother: The entire middle section of the film is spent running around through the tunnels without much really happening. No one gets killed (except for a few faceless militia who make it inside) and the banter between our two heroes really starts getting into that annoying stage. They also don’t seem to be very good at their jobs. I guess it’s no surprise when the scientist they are sent to save turns out to be something else entirely.
- It had to be something: There are things to enjoy about Death Valley up to this point; the monsters are cool looking, there are a few so-so shootouts, and someone uses a flamethrower! The problem is that even with those positives out there it is too easy to mention in the same breath that the monsters are barely in the movie, the shootouts are mediocre (at best), and the flamethrower scene is a one and done use weapon. Our final gift from this movie is a “twist” that you’ll most likely see coming and one that doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth. Again, we’re left wondering how Beckett and Junior managed to survive in this field of work for so long and why we never got to see the other 20 monsters we were told existed.
The Verdict: Death Valley had all of the potential in the world. After watching Psycho Goreman earlier this year and spending my entire life being a fan of Aliens knockoff movies I was full of excitement for this film. I wish I could say that it lived up to those expectations but I would be lying to both you and myself. I appreciate what writer/director Matthew Ninaber was trying to do with this film but there are just so many things done poorly in it. The one massive positive that this movie should put front and center in the marketing is the creature design and effects. Those looked really cool and while they don’t really do much in the film, the close up shots look rad as hell. The characters, script, pace, and story, however, all stink like shit. I didn’t care one bit about anyone in the film and the total lack of good acting only made me want to see them die even more. I can’t even recommend this movie to fans of Aliens or the type of things that I’ve spent my life pursuing. It was utterly disappointing and I wish I had just left it alone.
